I hope you all liked my column of happy song lyrics a few weeks ago. I believe that music has the capability of transcending a great deal. I also think that music can let your spirit soar and set you free. Do you know how it feels to be swept up in great music? Do you know how it feels to be so moved that you can feel it in your heart or in your stomach or your throat?

Do sad songs make you cry? Do patriotic songs make you swell up with the pride of   being an American and thankfulness for all our forefathers and foremothers did? I say go by your emotions, and make them happy songs. Use them for therapy. Use them to make you feel comfortable, relaxed, or energized. Most especially, use your songs to help you feel calm and serene. Begin to recognize that as your natural state of being.

Let happy music fill your life. Listen for it from nature. And don’t let a birdsong, or the sounds of crickets or cicadas, go unnoticed. I say the same thing about rain falling on a roof, or the waves that have come so far, finally meeting the shore.

And hear your own music, too. You might never be a composer, but I believe we should all listen to our particular beats, rhythms, and nuances. I think they make us who we are.

So let your own music be sweeping, let it take you to new heights. And feel it from your very depths. Let it fill you to overflowing — ahhh, yes! Pay attention to music, and notice what makes you feel good, bad or indifferent. I’m of an age when I don’t want to hear the music of my youth anymore because it’s too painful. Do all of us senior citizens feel that way sometimes?

And pay attention to the sounds that make up your world. Listen, and truly be where you are now.

Is yours snappy music or is it epic? Are you more inclined to the cadences of rap or the flowing sweep of a ballet? Or are you more inclined to the loud, full grandeur of cinema music or orchestra music? Are you rock and roll, or a lullaby? Or are you a little of this and some of that?

Marcelle Hanemann is a news reporter for The Daily News. You can email her at marcelle.hanemann@bogalusadailynews.com or call her at 985-732-2565, ext. 301.